Shoe buckle



y 1966 L. ALBINIANO 3,252,194

SHOE BUC KLE Filed May 6, 1964 Fl (5. 4 X0 Z9 57 igi s F l G. 6

INVENTOR. LARRY ALBINIANO United States Patent M Island Filed May 6, 1964, Ser. No. 365,264 1 Claim. (Cl. 24178) My present invention relates to the buckle art and more particularly to a novel construction of a shoe buckle.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a shoe buckle having a novel tongue and roller combination construetion which provides a recess for the point of the tongue.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a buckle construction which forms a recess for the point of the tongue and prevents snagging in the stockings or clothes of the wearer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a buckle construction in which a recess is provided for the end of the tongue but which also allows freedom of action by the roller at the same time.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel buckle construction having the above advantages which is easy and economical to manufacture and assemble.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts, more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompany drawings, and more particularly defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view of a shoe buckle embodying my present invention.

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 on FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the roller construction.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the blank for forming the roller shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing another form of my present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front elevation of the buckle shown in FIG. 5.

Conventional shoe buckles for womens and childrens shoes usually comprise a generally rectangular frame having a central cross bar upon which a tongue is pivotally mounted. The front bar of the buckle is provided with a tubular sleeve or roller upon which the free end of the tongue rests. When the strap is inserted, it rides freely over the roller, thus reducing friction and wear on the strap and making for easy engagement and disengagement of the strap with the buckle. However, it has been found that the end of the tongue is inclined to be sharp and frequently snags the nylon stockings of the female wearers of the shoes. Also, it catches in the childrens clothing. T o avoid this, buckles have been devised which eliminate the roller construction and provide the front bar with a built up housing which forms a recess for the end of the tongue so that it does not stick up in use. Such constructions sacrifice the easy running characteristics of the rotating roller in the front bar. The present invention is designed to provide a buckle construction in which the roller is retained, but the construction is such that a recess is provided for the end of the tongue when not in actual use in a strap.

Referring more in detail to the drawings illustrating my invention, FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional buckle 10 having a generally rectangular frame 11 which in the illustrated form is indented at the sides 12 to form an oval rear portion 13 and a rectangular front portion 14 separated by the integral cross bar 15. The tongue 16 is provided with a loop 17 which swings around the central portion of the cross bar to loosely pivotally mount it 3,252,194 Patented May 24, 1966 in place. The cross bar 15 may be provided with widened portions 18 to retain the tongue in central position as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tongue 16 extends forwardly to normally rest on the front cross bar 19 upon which the roller 20 is loosely mounted. The roller 20 normally comprises a sleeve or tube extending across the entire length of the cross bar 19. However, in accordance with the present invention the roller 20 is formed as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A piece of metal is blanked out to form a pair of equal rectangular fiat portions 21 and 22 integrally connected by a slender central strip 23. The roller is formed as shown in FIG. 3, the portion 21 forming a cylinder 24 and the portion 22 forming a cylinder 25, both connected by the central strip 23. However, the strip 23 is bent inwardly until it virtually contacts the cross bar 19. This construction provides a recess in the center of the roller caused by the separation of the cylinders 24 and 25. In view of their connection to the strip 23 they will both rotate together as a single roller. This will position the seam equally at both sides. In use, as illustrated in FIG. 1 the end of the tongue 16 drops into the gap between the two cylinders 24 and 25 so that it is recessed and below the level of the outside of the roller. Now if any garment brushes against the buckle, it contacts the roller but not the end of the tongue 16. On the other hand, when the strap is inserted the buckle will operate in the conventional manner, with the roller reducing the frictional movement of the strap through the buckle.

While the form illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive is preferred, the same results may be obtained by using the construction shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In this form the buckle 26 is identical in construction to the buckle 10, having a frame 27, a central cross bar 28, a tongue 29 pivoted on it, and a front cross bar 30. However, in this form the central portion of the front cross bar 30 is forced downwardly at 31 to form a recess for receiving the tongue 29. The front roller now comprising two separate cylindrical portions 32 and 33 positioned at each side of the depressed portion 31 of the cross bar 30. While the effect is the same as that shown in FIG. 1, actually the cylindrical portions 32 and 33 rotate independently of each other. They are held in position at their outer ends by the side of the frame 27, and, in the center, the depressed portion 31 of the cross bar 30 keeps the rollers in the separated position shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The action of the form shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is identical to that in the form shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive. However, since the cylinders 32 and 33 rotate independently, their seams will not align during rotation and they will not have a balanced appearance. However when the strap is inserted the same rolling effect is created and when it is positioned in the forms shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 the end of the tongue is retained in the recess formed by the gap between the rollers 32 and 33 and the depressed portion 31 of the cross bar 30 so that it will not snag stockings or dresses of the wearer. In the form shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 each roller portion is of course formed by a simple rectangular blank rolled into the form of a tube. In this respect the manufacture of the roller shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is easier to accomplish than that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. However, the slight additional cost is offset by the better appearance of the buckle.

I have thus provided a construction in which the tongue of a shoe buckle is positioned in a recess at the front end to prevent snagging. This is accomplished without interfering with or removing the roller action from the buckle. The construction of the form shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 add very little or anything to the overall cost of a conventional buckle of the same type. Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art.

I claim: 1

A shoe buckle comprising a frame having side bars and integral transverse front and rear cross bars, an integral transverse cross bar intermediate and parallel to said front and rear cross bars, a tongue pivotally mounted on said intermediate cross bar, and a tubular roller mounted on said front cross bar, said roller forming a central recess for receiving the free end of said tongue, said roller recess means comprising a pair of complementary roller portions mounted on said front cross bar, said roller portions being separated to form said recess therebetween,

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 462,610 7/ 1928 Germany. 931,549 8/1955 1 Germany. 725,391 3/1955 Great Britain.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

E. SIMONSEN, Assistant Examiner. 

